Breaking Defense establishes dedicated Middle East Bureau with Agnes Helou

Breaking Defense is pleased to announce the establishment of a full-time editorial bureau in the Middle East, with the promotion of Agnes Helou to Middle East Bureau Chief.

The move continues Breaking Defense’s rapid global expansion and underlines our commitment to the critical Middle East defense market. In the last 18 months, Breaking Defense has also stood up full-time bureau chiefs in Australia, covering Asia and the Pacific, and in the United Kingdom, covering Europe.

Helou will helm Breaking Defense’s Middle East news coverage, providing expert reporting on developments throughout the Arab world and the southern Mediterranean region. Helou has close to a decade of experience in covering regional defense and strategic topics. She was managing editor of Security and Defense Arabia, an Arabic language defense website and magazine, and covered the Middle East and North Africa defense and security topics for Defense News for three years. Prior to this promotion, Helou covered the region for Breaking Defense as a correspondent.

Based in Lebanon, Helou is fluent in Arabic, French and English. She has a master’s degree and is pursuing her PhD. Her interests include artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, air defense, maritime and border security, and regional strategic issues. Riad Kahwaji, a senior strategic expert based in the United Arab Emirates, will continue in his role providing periodic analytical features from the region for Breaking Defense as Contributing Editor.

“Having a full-time reporter to cover the Middle East and Gulf is reflective of how, even in the era of Great Power Competition, no one can take their eye off the region,” said Aaron Mehta, Editor in Chief of Breaking Defense. “After working with Agnes for the last year, I’m thrilled we could bring her on full-time to lead our coverage. Expect a significant uptick in stories not just from the Middle East, but also the Mediterranean region, which are vital from both a market standpoint and a strategic one.”

“This is an awesome development for Breaking Defense, we’re simply delighted to bring Agnes Helou on as full-time bureau chief in what is clearly one of the most important defense markets in the world,” said David Smith, Publisher and Managing Director. “Agnes is a proven defense reporter in the region, the best. Her promotion and increased news reporting signals the importance we place on Middle Eastern coverage and the commitment we have to this key region.”